1

DISCOVERY OF THE BIOFIELD

A Different Type of Magnetism? (Unpublished, 1981)

The Chinese use the term ch’i or Ki to describe the energy which

circulates along acupuncture meridians and provides the essential life

force for the body. In the 1940’s Wilhelm Reich built what he called

orgone accumulators which collected an energy from space. Orgone

was considered to be the vital energy of all living organisms and could

be supplied to people who were ill, by using Reich’s accumulators. It’s

easy enough to build an accumulator, and I made several, but didn’t

find the results consistent and objectively measurable. Reich’s devices

and discoveries stimulated a lot of research which is continuing today.

Psychics who claim to see the human aura have always tantalized

researchers to detect it with the latest and most sensitive instruments.

However, measurements made with sensitive ultraviolet light

detectors, electrostatic or radio wave detectors have found almost

nothing except the typical infrared or heat radiation given off by a

warm body.

Applying high voltage and low current to the body and taking

photographs produces colored photographs. Called Kirilian

photography, after the Russian who developed it, it has some validity,

though it’s difficult to produce measurable effects from the color

photographs. So, significant aspects may not have been noticed.

On a cool, dry day the body can pick up electric charge,

especially if synthetic clothing is worn, and this charge will spark to a

metal surface as it is touched, or spark to another person, if that

person has less charge. This comes and goes with the weather; the

body does not generate an electric charge which can be detected

beyond the skin.

There are small electric currents and voltages generated within

the body which can be measured by placing electrodes directly on the

skin or placing probes within the brain or heart. Brain waves are only

about 10 millionths of a volt and the largest muscle electrical signal is

2

generated by the heart--one quarter of one thousandth of a volt. Other

muscles produce voltages of only a few millionths of a volt.

Some people have written that the body has a magnetic aura.

Although this has a tiny bit of truth, it is misleading and confusing.

While it’s correct that any moving electric charge generates a magnetic

field, such fields are only a fraction of the strength of the electric

fields. In order to make magnetic fields apparent, coils of wire with

many turns must be used. And the current must flow in only one way.

Blood flows out and back and has no net electrical charge, so it

doesn’t generate any external field, although a very small magnetic

field is generated when nerve impulses propagate as they move in only

one direction. To detect the tiny electrical signal produced by the

heart muscle requires amplification of about 1,000 times and

electrodes must be placed directly on the body. The magnetic field

generated by that tiny signal requires amplification a thousand times

more, or a million times altogether. In other words, the magnetic field

generated by the heart is only about one thousandth of the electric

field. No compass would ever show such a small field. If the body

had an appreciable magnetic aura, compasses would not work properly

and people would have been forced to rely on the sun and stars for

navigation. -

The SQUID

Within the last decade, a very sensitive instrument has been

developed which can detect the very small magnetic fields around the

heart and brain, where busy neural activity also makes a tiny net

magnetic field. The instrument used to detect these fields is called a

SQUID, an acronym for superconducting quantum interference device.

The SQUID usually is operated in special magnetically shielded rooms.

The SQUID itself, in early models, had to be cooled to liquid helium

temperatures to reduce internal electrical noise. The measured

magnetic fields from the head and heart are less than one millionth of a

gauss (term used for magnetic field strength). While data from the

SQUID is now providing information, to say that the body has a

magnetic aura is like saying the body has a gravitational aura. We

don’t walk around attracting objects to our bodies such as paper clips

and rusty nails, by our magnetic fields. However, just because people

3

don’t have any appreciable magnetic field, does not mean that they are

not affected by small magnetic fields.

Animal Magnetism

There is another type of field around the body which is not

electric nor magnetic and is very much larger than either of them. It is

indirectly related to magnetism, and lacking a suitable term, people

have often chosen to use the term “magnetic” to describe it. Mesmer

apparently was one of the first people to connect this field with

magnetism.

Mesmer believed there was a fluid-like energy around the human

body which was highly charged in healthy people, and weak or nearly

absent in ill people. He recognized that this force was somehow

related to magnetism, and he thought that magnets could conduct it.

He called this force “Animal Magnetism” to differentiate it from

ordinary iron magnetism. He found that he could produce “magnetic-

like” effects in his patients by stroking the space around them with

magnets or his hands. His formulation was similar to what Reich later

called orgone energy.

Detecting the Biofield

In 1978, the author discovered

a simple device which can detect

and measure a force around the

body which may be what Mesmer

called animal magnetism. This

shows up as a spin or rotational

force on a frame which is suspended

over a person’s head. Figure 1

shows one form of the device used

for this purpose. Although a

pyramid frame was initially used, the

force has no connection with so-called pyramid energy. The author

was investigating the possible existence of pyramid energy when this

other effect was accidentally discovered.

4

The frame can be of any material; wood, plastic, or metal, and

any shape. It is suspended by a nylon filament (fishing line leader). No

components are critical. When a

person sits under a hanging frame, it

will rotate a few degrees. To measure

the degree of rotation, a mirror is glued

on the nylon filament. A wall mounted

spotlight will produce a reflected spot

on an adjacent wall where a scale

serves to provide accurate

measurement of movement of the spot.

A lady’s compact mirror which slightly

focuses the spot of light works better

than a flat mirror. In the apparatus

shown in Figure 1, ring magnets were

placed such that their North poles point

towards the apex.

Figure 2 shows a different version of the device which uses a

hanging scale. Other versions of the device have included a spiral helix

fashioned from quarter inch copper tubing, three sided pyramidal

forms, large rings, and pyramids hanging inside a bottle (Figure 3).

Devices have been made and

tested with more, less, or no magnets.

In general, the more magnets the more

movement, but Biofield Meters still

rotate even when there are no magnets

on them. The instruments are stable,

and rarely move when no one is near

them. Over one thousand observations

have been made.

Instruments suspended in bottles demonstrate that air currents

and thermal currents could not be involved in their movement. Units

placed in bottles or glass cases are caused to move by placing one’s

hands at the sides of the case. Electrical shielding or electrical

5

grounding of the operator made no difference, however soft iron

wrapped around a bottle stopped the effect.

To test whether heat could be producing rotation of the larger

frames, several observations were made using a hundred watt light

bulb, a lighted candle, and a heat pack. No movement of the frames

was observed when these heat sources were placed inside the frames.

To insure that air currents produced by breathing were not affecting

the movement, the breath was held as long as possible in a number of

tests. The Biofield meter always moved within five to fifteen seconds,

so that factor too can be ruled out. Besides, the many observations

made with units in sealed glass jars have repeatedly demonstrated that

movement takes place when no air currents and only minimal heat

transfer could be present. Devices in bottles have been observed to

move at distances up to 12 feet from the observer during times of

large magnetic storms.

Since the body’s intrinsic magnetic field measured in shielded

rooms is about one billionth of a gauss, this biofield could not be an

ordinary magnetic field. The author has simply called it the Biofield, a

contracting of biological energy field. Tesla, a contemporary of Edison

and inventor of the alternating current motor and many other

instruments, was reported to have spoken about a “higher octave” of

magnetism which had not been recognized by traditional science.

Whatever we choose to call it; the aura, animal magnetism,

orgone energy, prana, spin force, ch’i, or the biofield, this energy is

quite large; over 100 million times as large as the body’s magnetic

field! If it were magnetic, the biofield would be equivalent to several

hundred gauss.

Well, then, what is the biofield? It appears to be a genuine new

force in science. It manifests as a physical force clearly observed on

all types of biological matter. As of this time (1989) it appears to be a

force which produces movement at right angles around the human

body. It does not push or pull like gravity or electrostatic forces. It

appears to be in the form of a circular or spiral force around the body.

The origin of the force is not electrical, magnetic, heat, or gravitational.

It is much too large to be produced by these forces. It needs a name.

The author has chosen to call it simply the biofield, and to call the

6

instruments which serve to detect it, biofield meters. Descriptive

equations will follow upon the development of additional and more

refined instrumentation and further experimentation. New discoveries

can probably be made by any reader of this book willing to construct or

purchase a biofield meter and make careful observations.

After several months of observations it was discovered that the

amount of the initial rotational deflection of the Biofield meter varied in

association with the geomagnetic field. Figures 4 and 5 show

deflections of the meter over a 40-day period (daily measurements) and

a 3 day period (measurements made at 3 hour intervals). The dashed

line shows measurements made with the Biofield meter and the solid

line shows data on Earth’s magnetic activity provided by the National

Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado. At times of higher

geomagnetic activity, the biofield also showed higher activity.

7

The second figure shows a similar relationship for the three hour

variations. There is a clear connection between the two measures,

although it’s not appropriate to do statistical correlations since there is

definitely a component to the biofield data which varies with the

emotional state or vitality of the person. When one meditates or is ill,

their biofield is of lesser amplitude. When one is excited, either angry

or happy, their field is larger.

Usually the direction of the initial rotation of the frame is to the

right as seen from within the frame, or clockwise as seen from above

the person. At times of new or full moon or when there are large

disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field the biofield often shows a

change in the initial direction of rotation. Measurements of the bio

field were made nearly every day.

Examination of the data for a two year period showed that 85%

of the time of a new or full moon (within 36 hours), the biofield

showed a reversal in direction of a few hours. Such a reversal could

have happened during the other 15% of the times but escaped the

author’s notice if it happened to occur between observation times.

Measurements made over a seven year period on various forms of

biofield meters showed consistent connections between their

movements and solar/geomagnetic activity. This was so, even for

those forms of the biofield meters which did not have magnets placed

on them. It seems that the geomagnetic activity is the largest

component of biofield activity.

The author detected biofields around a watermelon, a grapefruit,

and several plants. Presumably all living organisms have such fields.

The first device was called a Bio metre and was developed by Dr.

Hippolyte Baraduc of France – a copper needle suspended horizontally

by a thread from the center. A literature search uncovered reference

to an article by Dr. Charles Ross published in the 1922 medical journal

Lancet. He described an instrument which was set in motion by the

proximity of the human body or by vision. In recent years a German

scientist, W. Peschka, appears to have discovered a similar effect.

These men did not obtain numerical data on the amplitude of the field

8

or notice its connection with the geomagnetic field.

Dr. Frank Brown was a pioneer in the study of interactions

between magnetism and living organisms (see references). He visited

the author’s laboratory in 1983 and observed the biofield meter with

great interest. Among the 50 reprints of scientific papers he left as a

gift were several studies on bean seeds, magnetism, and spin. He

found that when bean seeds were placed near one another there was

an interaction between them which could not be explained. The effect

was observed by carefully measuring the amount of water which the

beans absorbed.

Dr. Brown thought the interaction was due to magnetism because

it was still present when electrostatic shielding was in place, but nearly

disappeared when magnetic shielding was used. Although he believed

the bean seeds had a magnetic field, he did not have the

instrumentation to measure it. In fact, even if a magnetic field around

a bean seed could be detected by ultra-sensitive SQUID apparatus, it

would probably be far too small to account for the observed effects. It

seems more likely that the interaction between the bean seeds was

due to the presence of a biofield or spin force. The biofield around

living organisms appears to be thousands of times larger than the

magnetic field.

That the biofield was involved, is supported by Dr. Brown’s

observation of a connection between rotation and bean seed

interaction. He found that the beans interacted more strongly when

they were rotated counterclockwise than when they were rotated

clockwise. (the biofield is usually observed as a clockwise force as

seen from above.)

In another series of experiments he placed rotating magnets near

the bean seeds and observed an interaction with the bean seeds.

Brown and his associates also found interactions between geomagnetic

activity and rotation of worms and other small life forms.

Brown also reported on the research of R. I. Jones, who reported

in 1960 that plant growth could be altered by uniform daily rotation.

Clockwise rotation depressed growth. No one has been able to explain

9

Jones’ findings, but the presence of a spin force around all plants

might be a factor.

Taken together, the findings of Brown, Jones, the author, and

other researchers all point to connections between living organisms,

spin, and geomagnetic activity. All living organisms seem to be in

resonance with Earth’s dynamic magnetic field. Earth’s magnetic field

is in turn a function of solar activity and the positions of the Moon, and

at least some of the planets.

Research Possibilities for the Biofield

Since the spin force has been observed around plants, a

grapefruit and a watermelon, presumably it is present around all living

things. Therefore it would be possible to suspend a biofield meter

around a plant and continuously monitor the rotation. If no magnets

were used on the biofield meter, there should be no magnetic

perturbations and the movement of the meter might accurately reflect

the geomagnetic activity, whereas in the case of human subjects,

emotional states and vitality factors are more variable. Such an

apparatus could be set up in a draft free environment, a Faraday cage,

or a magnetically shielded room.’

To make measurements of a human’s field in a magnetically

shielded room would be an excellent way to determine how much of

the biofield was generated by the human and how much induced by

geomagnetic activity.

Biofield instruments in bottles have been taken to the pyramids of

Egypt, the Grand Canyon, the ruins of Palenque, the mountains and the

seashore. Inside the great pyramid, there was no detectable biofield.

On top of the pyramid, movement was as usual. Differences were

observed at other locations as well. In general the amplitude of initial

rotation is less near the coast. Since the geomagnetic field strength

varies minute by minute, thorough observations on place differences

need to be made using standard instruments and simultaneous

observation. Some careful experimental procedures would be

necessary to make such tests.

10

Some other questions for research are:

Does the strength of the biofield vary with altitude? Would it diminish

in deep mines? Can it be detected in a steady, high flying aircraft?

How much mass can actually be caused to move by this force? The

heaviest device the author used weighed about 9 pounds. However

this weight was not being lifted, only rotated, so very little physical

force was actually required.

How do the biofields of individuals interact or combine? If a large

ring is suspended over one person and a measure made, then will two

people crowded under the ring increase the amplitude of initial rotation

by a factor of two?

Suppose a biofield meter is hung in the center of an empty room

and people quietly come in and stand around it. If the mirror system is

used, a spot of light can be reflected from the mirror on the bio field

meter to a distant wall providing a very sensitive indicator of rotation.

If people surround the instrument, moving slowly, towards it, how

close do they have to come before it rotates? Or will it rotate at all?

How many people will be required to observe such a rotation?

How far does this force field extend around the body? How

much interaction is there with the force fields of other humans? Of

plants? Of animals? Although the field strength can vary from

moment to moment, depending on the activity of Earth’s magnetic field

and on the emotional state of the human at a given moment, if these

are reasonably constant, how rapidly does it diminish? Gravitational,

electrostatic, and magnetic forces have been found to diminish with

the square of the distance. Does this force follow the same formula?

There are so many parameters to uncover! It’s as if we were back in

the 1800’s when electricity and magnetism were first discovered--an

experimenter’s paradise.

A most important question is: what is the direction of this force?

Is it truly a spin force? The formal and informal experiments and

observations I made extending over many years suggest that it is a

spin force, but that could be disproved by another type of experiment.

The devices I built never seemed to move in another manner except

rotation, but that may be because less energy is required to spin the

rings or frames than move them in any other way. When a 30 ft. Long

11

suspension line was used, spinning still occurred--not swinging. The

pyramids hung in bottles rotated when hands were placed at the sides.

Is there a spin force between one’s hands? This is a puzzle...

Ralph Stone, founder of Polarity Therapy, has illustrations

showing a spin field around the body. One person who meditates

reported to me that she experienced a spinning sensation during a

meditation. Perhaps there really are whoosh birds after all! If this

force were a spin force it would fit with other patterns found in nature.

Laurence Badgley has found that a spiral vortex field appears around

sites of injury on the body, which shows interaction with magnetic

fields.

If the force were in a spin form, it would imply that if we could

place a small test object in space around a human, that object would

start to rotate around the person. This experiment could not be done

on Earth, but perhaps it could be done in space. If so, the spin force,

or life force, is similar to magnetism, for magnetism is a spin force

located in the space around a wire carrying an electric current.

Whereas magnetic forces only act on other magnets, this life

force or biofield force apparently acts on all matter. Copper, iron,

aluminum, plastic, and wood have been tried, but quantitative

comparative measurements have not been made. If a material were

found which did not show the effect it would be a very important

discovery.

Generalization of the Spin Force

Spin forces are not unique to living systems--they are

omnipresent in the universe. Spin or angular momentum is associated

with most sub atomic particles such as electrons, protons, neutrons,

etc. Apparently every body in the universe spins! Interstellar

molecules spin. Stars, planets, satellites, even entire galaxies and

clusters of galaxies all are known to spin. One astronomer maintains

that the whole universe spins! A German scientist, Dr. D. Ashcoff, has

invented an instrument known as a spin-tester for the cells of the

body. The discovery of the biofield meter shows the existence of a

spin force around the human body and other living organisms. Perhaps

12

it is time to assume that spin be taken as a fundamental force in its

own right along with gravity, electricity, and magnetism. Spin,

connects gravity and magnetism, for it is a more general type of

magnetism and at the same time it complements gravity. Spin forces,

if they exist around suns and planets, would help to organize solar

systems and satellite systems. The existence of spin as a force would

account for why the universe has not come together in clumps, for

spin forces operate at right angles to gravity forces.

The fastest spinning Pulsar was recently discovered (proof not

yet definite) at the core of a supernova which was observed in the

Southern Hemisphere two years ago. This fast spinning Pulsar was

apparently formed as part of the supernova process and would be

expected to start out spinning slowly and gradually increase in spin as

more matter was drawn to the center. But its measured spin rate is

almost 2,000 times per second, upsetting traditional theories. How

this enormous object could spin so rapidly, apparently so soon after

birth, is an unsolved mystery. However it does lend additional support

to the notion that spin should be considered a fundamental force

present around all matter.

Assuming the existence of spin force as a force in its own right

also would bring one aspect of aliveness into the equations of physics,

something that is long overdue. Spin forces might be called “form

forces” or “organizing forces”, for they help form complex living

organisms, which abound with spirals, helixes, and circles over and

over again in myriads of different ways from double helices in DNA and

RNA to Whirling Dervishes.

If we consider that spin be taken as a fundamental force along

with gravity, electricity, magnetism and the two nuclear forces, Table

1 (next page) can be constructed. (Actually the more precise scientific

term for spin is “torque”, the product of force multiplied by distance

from the center of the body, human, plant, animal, planet or star.)

As previously mentioned, there are also two other forces now

assumed to exist. Called the strong and weak nuclear forces, they

operate within atomic nuclei to help keep nuclear particles from

dispersing due to electrical forces.

More research on the biofield is urgently needed, and it’s impossible

for one person to do it, so it is the author’s hope that many readers

13

will take up the exciting challenge and enjoy the fun of exploring a

whole new field.

Table 1.

THE FORCES OF THE UNIVERSE

FORCE LEVEL OF OPERATION EFFECTS

Gravitic Operates between all matter. Pulls matter together.

Electric Only manifests between charged

particles.

Pushes or pulls.

Magnetic Manifests when charged particles

move.

Pushes or pulls at right

angles to the direction of

motion. Only sensed by

other charged particles.

Causes charged particles

to move in circles,

spirals, or helixes.

Strong &

Weak

Nuclear

Operates within nucleus of

atoms.

Keeps the nuclear

particles together.

Spin Present around all bodies – Much

larger around living organisms.

Causes all bodies to spin

around one another.

Counteracts gravity.

Produces complex forms

or structures.